It was this desire to move that compelled me as a child to trace imaginary journeys with my finger on a tattered map in my "Atlas of the World". I was happy to "travel" from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar, Damascus and Jaipur in less than an hour. Less than an hour you may ask? Only on a magic carpet and then you better hold on tight. Did I mention my untamed imagination?
But, I'm digressing again. Point is a few weeks ago in Darwin, Australia I chanced upon this children's book in a gift shop at the breathtaking Katherine Gorge. For those unfamiliar with the Outback - it is in the middle of Nowhere. No Kidding.
The book is a collection of Aboriginal fables as narrated to Naiura by his his grandmother. A very insightful read. I was especially drawn to one particular fable, and it goes like this...
"Sometimes - and as often than not when I least expect it - a sudden urge to be elsewhere overcomes me. This very compelling need to go walkabout seems perfectly natural to me and my people, even if it is difficult to explain to outsiders. Once the mood grips us, we must leave wherever we are and whatever we are doing: we may need to be alone for a while, revisit some old familiar place, or visit particular relatives.
When I go, I let me feet take me where they will. It might be anywhere, though I have no fears, because I know my country well enough to be alert to any danger. I know every creek, every gully and every shimmering hill. There are moments when I feel I know every blade of grass, as absurd as that is.
Sometimes I stray as far as the distant mountains, which seem to pierce the sky. The air is cold up there, sometimes freezing, but the water is crystal clear and very refreshing. It tastes as pure as the winter snows that feed the streams.
The hot, dry air of the deserts is just as clean to me. And when I curl up near the campfire, the vast, star-studded sky reminds me of what freedom means to my people.
I may walk for many days on a walkabout, with no thought of time. I may seem to be doing nothing at all, yet I remain curious about everything I see. Sometimes I spot new things, or things that I had missed the last time I was in the area: a hidden waterhole, perhaps, or a fallen tree that has exposed an animal burrow, or a poisonous plant.
When my clan hunts for game or gathers plant food, each of us shares a single thought: survival. We are many mouths, and food is sometimes hard to find.
So, on walkabouts I visit every waterhole, and follow many tracks, especially recent ones. I take careful stock of creatures I might see, and what their movements are most likely to be.
Then I commit it all to memory, because the next time I pass I am as likely to be hunting as on a walkabout.
Despite the occasional scarcity of food, especially in times of drought, I feel our tribal land is kind to me and my people. We may have gone hungry many times, yet we have prevailed for generations, beyond the most distant living memory. It is a good feeling, and walkabout strengthens that feeling, while ridding our minds of its many worries for a while."
A simple fable to remind us that everything is connected.
